1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to motorcycles and similar wheeled recreational vehicles, and specifically relates to a gearing device for facilitating the reversing movement of such vehicles.
2. Description of Related Art
Motorcycles have been in existence for many years, but have become increasingly popular in the last few decades as a more conventional means for transportation and recreation. While the design and structure of motorcycles varies widely between manufacturers, they are all generally comprised of two or three wheels and a drive means that typically operates to drive or rotate the rear wheel or rear wheel axle. Most motorcycles have a gas engine and a transmission, and many have a rear wheel assembly driven by the transmission that includes a chain drive or drive belt.
The drive means and transmissions of motorcycles provide forward movement of the cycle, but few transmissions are manufactured with reversing mechanisms for moving the motorcycle backwards. Consequently, in order to move the motorcycle backwards or in a reverse mode, the rider must physically push the motorcycle backwards, either while being seated on the cycle or while dismounted from the cycle. Manually walking a motorcycle backwards to, for example, back out of a parking space, is not particularly problematic with smaller sized motorcycles or where the rider is a taller, stronger adult.
However, in the past two decades motorcycles have been manufactured in increasingly larger sizes due to public demand, and frequent riders of motorcycles now include women, older children, elderly people and those who are physically challenged, yet still able to enjoy riding motorcycles. Additionally, with the increase in size of motorcycles has come the ability to tow small trailers behind motorcycles. These factors have, therefore, given rise to a need for providing means for reversing motorcycles by other than manual means (i.e., walking the bike backwards) in instances where the cycle is large, riders are of smaller stature or lesser strength capabilities and/or where the motorcycle is used to tow small trailers or other devices.
The need for a reversing mechanism in motorcycles for the reasons stated previously has been recognized for several years, and various solutions have been devised for solving the problem. For example, means for providing a reversing gear in a transmission for a motorcycle are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,491 and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,416. However, a reversing gear in the transmission has proven to be unsafe in many instances because the engine, operating at a sufficiently high speed as the clutch is engaged, can cause the motorcycle to reverse too abruptly making the motorcycle and rider unstable. Other reversing devices have been proposed which use a starter motor rather than the combustion engine or transmission as a means for driving the rear wheel in a reverse direction, such as are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,538 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,332.
It has also been recognized that although reversing mechanisms can be manufactured into the transmission, such arrangements are costly and do not address the need for providing reversing mechanisms in pre-existing motorcycles. Therefore, other reversing mechanisms have been disclosed which are not associated with the transmission and may be retrofitted to the motorcycle. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,695 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,304, both of which describe a reversing mechanism that includes a friction wheel that engages the tread of the rear tire to cause rotation of the rear tire in a reverse direction. Such devices frequently prove to be insufficient for effecting rotation of the tire, especially in larger sized motorcycles.
An even simpler solution to the reversing problem is proposed in U.S. Published application US 2003/0038437, published Feb. 27, 2003, which discloses a portable reverse drive comprised of a frame having rollers and wheels that rotate in a direction opposite the forward rotation of the motorcycle wheel when the wheel is positioned in the frame. The portable reverse drive, while seemingly effective, appears to be cumbersome to use since the rider must position the device on the tire, back the cycle up, then get off the cycle again to retrieve and store the device in a saddlebag or elsewhere prior to riding off.
The reversing devices heretofore described each have limitations to cost-effective and/or mechanical operation, as described. Therefore, it would be advantageous in the art to provide a reversing mechanism that is inexpensively manufactured, easily attached to any motorcycle or multiple-wheeled, lightweight recreational vehicle, and which is simple to use and effective in providing reversing capabilities for the vehicle.